Top Items:
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum / Washington Post:
Loophole in Lobbying Bill Leaves Wiggle Room — Lawmakers are about to bombard the American public with proposals that would crack down on lobbyists. Several prominent plans, including one outlined yesterday by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), would specifically ban meals and privately paid travel for lawmakers.
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John Shadegg / Opinion Journal:
The Spirit of 1994 — Republicans need to look again to the examples of Goldwater and Reagan. — WASHINGTON—Ten years ago, the American people put Republicans in control of the House of Representatives for the first time in more than 40 years. It was a historic achievement …
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
2 Parties Rush to Offer Curbs for Lobbying — WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 - House Republican leaders laid out a proposal on Tuesday to rewrite House rules governing lobbying as they moved to contain the political damage from an election-year scandal over undue influence and access afforded to lobbyists.
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
2002 Memo Doubted Uranium Sale Claim — WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 - A high-level intelligence assessment by the Bush administration concluded in early 2002 that the sale of uranium from Niger to Iraq was "unlikely" because of a host of economic, diplomatic and logistical obstacles …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Power Line, Rantingprofs, First Draft, Mia Culpa, Needlenose and Booman Tribune
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James Webb / New York Times:
Purple Heartbreakers — IT should come as no surprise that an arch-conservative Web site is questioning whether Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has been critical of the war in Iraq, deserved the combat awards he received in Vietnam.
U.S. Newswire:
Leading Conservatives Call for Extensive Hearings on NSA Surveillance; Checks on Invasive Federal Powers Essential — Contact: Laura Brinker, 202-715-1540, for Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, laura.brinker@dittus.com — WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 /U.S. Newswire …
Washington Post:
U.S. Journalist Shown as Hostage — Kidnappers in Iraq Threaten to Kill Her, Demanding Female Prisoners Be Freed — BAGHDAD, Jan. 17 — The captors of an American journalist kidnapped in Baghdad 10 days ago threatened to kill her in three days unless authorities freed all female prisoners in Iraq …
Discussion:
Rantingprofs, The Heretik, The Glittering Eye, Donklephant, Poynter Online and The Moderate Voice
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Robert F. Worth / New York Times:
Al Jazeera Shows Kidnapped U.S. Journalist — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 17 - Looking pale and tired, a kidnapped American reporter, Jill Carroll, appeared in a silent videotape broadcast Tuesday by Al Jazeera television. The network said her captors had threatened to kill her if the United States does …
Discussion:
The Heretik
Los Angeles Times:
UCLA Alumni Group Is Tracking 'Radical' Faculty — A fledgling alumni group headed by a former campus Republican leader is offering students payments of up to $100 per class to provide information on instructors who are "abusive, one-sided or off-topic" in advocating political ideologies.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The American Thinker, This Modern World, Feministe and Just a Bump in the Beltway
Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Update 15: White House Lobs Accusations at Gore — Former Vice President Al Gore and the White House traded accusations over national security Tuesday in a dispute that also pulled in President Bush's other presidential election rival, John Kerry. — At issue was Bush's secret domestic …
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Manuel Roig-Franzia / Washington Post:
New Orleans Mayor Apologizes for Remarks About God's Wrath — NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 17 — An avalanche of criticism, stoked by heated talk-radio rants, forced Mayor C. Ray Nagin to apologize Tuesday for declaring that God wants New Orleans to be a "chocolate city."
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Associated Press:
Supreme Court Steers Clear of First Abortion Case in 5 Years — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that a lower court was wrong to strike down New Hampshire abortion restrictions, steering clear of a major ruling on whether such laws place an undue burden on women.
ACLU:
Statement - Christopher Hitchens, NSA Lawsuit Client — Although I am named in this suit on my own behalf, I am motivated to join it by concerns well beyond my own. I have been frankly appalled by the discrepant and contradictory positions taken by the Administration in this matter.
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The Big Trunk / Power Line:THE BOOK OF RACHEL — Based on my junk mail, I would guess …
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere
Thomas Ferraro / Reuters:
Senate Democrat backs Alito for US Supreme Court — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a moderate voice in the U.S. Congress, on Tuesday became the first Senate Democrat to announce his support for conservative Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, who is expected to be confirmed later …
Scott Leith / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Headline News adds conservative Beck — CNN Headline News is continuing to bet its future success on opinionated chat shows, this time by hiring an up-and-coming conservative radio host for a new prime time program. — The upcoming addition of Glenn Beck, who is heard on about 200 radio stations …
Discussion:
Independent Christian Voice, The Carpetbagger Report, OTB Journal, mediabistro and SpeakSpeak News
Jennifer McKee / missoulian.com:
Former Burns aide confirms Super Bowl trip is under investigation — HELENA - A former top aide to Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., has confirmed that Justice Department investigators are looking into a 2001 Super Bowl trip attended by two Burns staffers and organized by confessed felon Jack Abramoff.
Steven Malanga / City Journal:
Ronald Reagan's Unlikely Heir — Ohio's Republican gubernatorial front-runner Ken Blackwell is "Jesse Jackson's worst nightmare." — Ken Blackwell has just finished regaling a group of Ohio retailers with his vision of how to turn around the state's struggling economy with a heavy dose of fiscal restraint and tax cuts.
Garance Franke-Ruta / TAPPED:
THE LAMENESS OF THE LEFT. This may seem like one of those small intra-New York left controversies, and yet it is the kind of thing that happens so frequently in so-called progressive circles around the country that it's worth noting, because it's just this kind of thing that makes people wonder …
